Miva Merchant Mailer 2.0 User Guide

Highlights of This Guide:

  1. Installation
  2. General use
  3. Connecting with mymerchantmailer.com

www.mivamerchant.com
This document was last revised on 25 March 2007.
LEGAL INFORMATION

Miva Merchant
5060 Shoreham Street
San Diego, CA 92122
Telephone: 858-490-2570
Fax: 858-731-4200
http://www.mivamerchant.com
info@mivamerchant.com

This document and the software described by this document are copyright © 2007 by Miva Merchant. All rights reserved.  Use of the software described herein may only be done in accordance with the License Agreement provided with the software. This document may not be reproduced in full or partial form except for the purpose of using the software described herein in accordance with the License Agreement provided with the software. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Companies, names and data used in the examples herein are fictitious unless otherwise noted.

Miva Merchant is a registered trademark Miva Merchant Order, Miva Merchant, Miva Merchant Mia, Miva Merchant Empresa and the Miva Merchant Engine are trademarks of Miva Merchant. QuickBooks Pro and Premier are trademarks of Intuit, Inc. Windows is the registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. This document was developed and produced in San Diego, CA, USA. MIVA MERCHANT WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR (A) ANY BUG, ERROR, OMISSION, DEFECT, DEFICIENCY, OR NONCONFORMITY IN SOFTWARE OR THIS DOCUMENTATION; (B) IMPLIED MERCHANTIBILITY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE; (C) IMPLIED WARRANTY RELATING TO COURSE OF DEALING, OR USAGE OF TRADE OR ANY OTHER IMPLIED WARRANTY WHATSOEVER; (D) CLAIM OF INFRINGEMENT; (E) CLAIM IN TORT,  WHETHER OR NOT ARISING IN WHOLE OR PART FROM MIVA MERCHANT'S FAULT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR PRODUCT LIABILITY, OR (F) CLAIM FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR LOSS OF DATA, REVENUE, LICENSEE’S GOODWILL, OR USE. IN NO CASE SHALL MIVA MERCHANT'S LIABILITY EXCEED THE PRICE THAT LICENSEE PAID FOR SOFTWARE.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About This Document
Scope
Audience
Conventions
Related Resources
Overview
Before you get started
Installation
Manual Installation
Wizard Install
Configuration
Without Miva Merchant Mailer service
With Miva Merchant Mailer Service
Subscription Lists
Managing Lists
Handling Customers/Subscribers
Manually Adding a Subscriber
Converting Your Existing Customer Base
Quick Subscriptions
Modifying Pages
Showing Lists
Quick Subscription Box
Unsubscribing
Connecting to MyMerchantMailer.com
Logging In
Documentation
Appendix A: License Agreements
Anti-Spam Policy
Links
Appendix B: Guidelines and Threshholds
Sending Guidelines & Thresholds
Threshold Enforcement Procedures
Appendix C: Quick Subscription Variable List

 

ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT

Scope
This document will cover the functionality of Miva Merchant Mailer 2.0 including signing-up, creation of subscription lists, handling subscriptions, and use of the service. Subjects not within the scope of this guide include effective email marketing, creation and sending of emails, and tracking email responses. These topics are cover on the mymerchantmailer.com website. A link is provided to this documentation once you have signed up for an account.

Audience
This guide is intended as a reference and walkthrough for the basic functionality found within the Miva Merchant administration interface.

Conventions
To make this document easier to read, these typographical conventions are used:
Names of files, and folders, such as mvc.exe, in the BIN folder, are displayed in bold text.  Also the names of buttons, fields, and tabs in dialog boxes are shown in bold.
Directory structures, code, and anything entered at the command line are displayed in a mono-spaced font.  For example: 

http://www.mydomain.com/Merchant2/setup.mv
Especially interesting or important information is displayed in italics (style = "Emphasis").

Steps where specific actions are required are shown as checkbox items, like this:

Read this manual.

Related Resources
You will probably want to learn more about Miva Merchant administration, store design, and e-commerce.  The Documentation and Support pages at www.mivamerchant.com include a complete listing of related resources.

 

OVERVIEW

Miva Merchant Mailer is an add-on module for the Miva Merchant e-commerce software with two phases. The first phase is creating subscription lists and signing-up your customers. Once you have the lists in place and integrated them into your store’s look-and-feel you are ready for phase two.
The second phase happens after you sign-up for the Miva Merchant Mailer Service. Through the MyMerchantMailer.com website, you will be able to easily create templates (re-usable content), create dynamic emails, and track your customer’s interaction with your emails.
Whether it is weekly specials, monthly reports, or special members-only discounts, Miva Merchant Mailer will get your message out.

Before you get started
You will need administrative/manager privileges to install and use this module. The module is available as a streamed update, and while you will need to need to have the module streamed into your domain, you do not need to have it installed in your store before starting this guide.

 

INSTALLATION

There are two ways to get started with Miva Merchant Mailer: manually installing the module or using a wizard to guide you through. If you would like to try out the subscription features of Miva Merchant Mailer first, then use the manual installation. If you are ready to jump in to the Miva Merchant Mailer service, then use the wizard to guide you through either creating a new Miva Merchant Billing account or adding it as a service to your existing Miva Merchant Billing account.

Manual Installation
To install the module, click on the “System Extension Configuration” link in the left navigation to bring up the following screen:




Check the box for "Miva Mailer 2.0" and click Update.

After clicking on the Miva Mailer tab, the administrator will need to agree to two license agreements. Read and accept each license by checking the checkbox, and pressing Update. Once the agreements are accepted, the administrator can access the Miva Merchant Mailer module. How to configure and use these screens are covered later in the document.




Wizard Install
To begin, launch the Miva Merchant Mailer 2.0 wizard from the main screen, via the left navigation, or if already using Miva Merchant Mailer 2.0 from a manual install, by the “click here” link on the Configuration sub-tab. Click Next to continue.




Click to view the currently available Miva Merchant Mailer services offered. Each service will have a description of the monthly fee, the maximum number of emails allowed to send each month, and additional information. Once the most appropriate plan is chosen, click Next.




Now the wizard needs a valid URL to the storefront. Some storefronts only require a base URL such as http://www.miva.com . Others will need to include a full path such as http://www.miva.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc . Some may even require the store code to be included. The default given takes the safe route and gives the complete URL with path and store code. Once any necessary modifications are made, click Next to continue.




Since this module is for sending emails, it requires a valid email address to say who sent the email and a name for that address. Most stores will have an additional email address that they use for sending out all correspondence such as noreply@miva.com or mail@miva.com . The wizard defaults to the store’s name and the owner’s email address. This email address will get bounced messages and unsubscribe notices so it would be best to specify something other than a primary email address. Press Next to continue.




That is all that is required for configuring Miva Merchant Mailer. From this point the wizard will be handling Miva Merchant Billing and either creating a new account or adding Miva Merchant Mailer as a service to an existing account. If Miva Merchant already knows the Miva Merchant Billing information (such as administrators running Miva Merchant Express or after entering in the information for a manual install), then the wizard will jump directly to the summary page. If the wizard does not know the Miva Merchant Billing information, it will proceed from here. Choose whether there is an existing account or need to create a new account and press Next.




If adding Miva Merchant Mailer to an existing account, enter a login and a password. Otherwise, enter in a login name, and enter a password for a new account twice and click Next.




If adding Miva Merchant Mailer as a service, clicking Next will go to the summary page. If creating a new Miva Merchant Billing account, verify or update the information given. This information it required to create a Miva Merchant Billing account. Once everything is correct, click Next to continue.




Next, enter valid credit card information. Miva Merchant Billing services have a monthly reoccurring fee so be aware that this card will be charged regularly based on a billing schedule. After entering in credit card information, click Next to reach the summary page.




Read over the summary page carefully. If there are any mistakes or option that requires changing, now is the time. Clicking Previous goes backwards one page, or use the Restart button to wipe out everything entered and start over. Once satisfied with the input, press Finish. The wizard will contact the Miva Merchant Billing server and create the service and an account as required. This may take a few moments so be patient. If there were any problems, a prompt will display which information needs to be changed.




Congratulations! An email with further details and instructions based on the type of account chosen will be sent to the store’s email address (not the address entered for Miva Merchant Mailer). Please allow 48 hours from sign-up to sending the first email, as it requires a little time for the store's information to propagate through the system.

Post-Installation
Once installed, the following storefront changes have occurred:

It is recommended to confirm these changes, and make sure they do not disrupt any branding or customization done to the look and feel of the website. All changes implement very simple layout techniques and may need to be modified to match the existing designs.

More information about customizing these additions can be found later in this document under Modifying Pages.

 

CONFIGURATION

Based on your current settings and situations, this screen will change slightly. To cover all the conditions Miva Merchant Mailer examines two things: whether or not there is a Miva Merchant Billing account, whether or not the account includes the Miva Merchant Mailer service.

Without Miva Merchant Mailer service
These screens are only available before going through the sign up wizard and starting the Miva Merchant Mailer service.
The first example is from a store that does not have a Miva Merchant Billing account and the second is for a store configured with Miva Merchant Billing.







The only real difference is the first screen shows an option for logging into an existing account. If already signed up to use Miva Billing, use this login to reconnect with the account. If the Miva Billing account is not subscribed to Miva Merchant Mailer, use the wizard to complete the setup.

At the top is the "Active" checkbox. This controls whether or not any of the subscription information appears in the storefront. It gives an administrator a chance to make changes without disrupting the experience of their customers. It does not affect any of the administration capabilities. Be aware that when the module is inactive, not only does this prevent new customers from signing-up; it will also prevent them from unsubscribing. Do not leave the module inactive for long periods, especially right after sending out any emails.

With Miva Merchant Mailer Service
Similar to before there is an "Active" checkbox at the top. This controls whether or not any of the subscription information appears in the storefront. It gives an administrator a chance to make changes without disrupting the experience of their customers. . It does not affect any of the administration capabilities.

NOTE: This checkbox also does not have any effect on the MyMerchantMailer.com website.




Server Status denotes a quick check to the mail server. There is scheduled maintenance every Friday night at 10:00PM Eastern through Saturday morning at 4:00AM. While this maintenance should not disrupt service, administrators should hold off on making any changes if the status is not marked as "Running".

The queue system
Because things can happen while the mailing server is unreachable, Miva Merchant Mailer has a queuing system built-in. This includes any operations performed before account creation, server maintenance, and even Internet hold ups. If there were lists created and customer subscriptions before a Miva Merchant Mailer account sign up, all these transaction are queued and will need to be sent to the Miva Merchant Mailer server to synchronize with current information. If there are transactions to be processed and the Server Status is marked as “Running”, a link will appear. Click on this link and Miva Merchant Mailer will start processing all of the transactions. Based on the quantity this may take some time and the screen may blank and refresh. When every thing is complete, the screen will refresh one more time. It is possible that even after running the sync, items will remain in the queue. A number of reasons can cause this. For example, the queue will stop if any transaction failed due to Internet problems, or if a transaction fails, the queue may add a new, corrected, transaction. If transactions continually show up in the queue after repeated synchronizing, please contact Miva Merchant support at 1-866-284-9812 for assistance.

XML log
An administrator can optionally enter in a valid filename to record all of the XML transmitted between the Miva Merchant module and the Miva Merchant Mailer server. The file will be generated within the /export sub-directory of the store’s data directory. This file can grow quite large and unless the administrator can prune it regularly, it should only be used when trying to diagnose an issue with Miva Merchant Mailer.

Email creation
The Miva Merchant Mailer system spans two parts; the subscribers and subscription lists are one part, and email creation and distribution is the other. Inside of Miva Merchant are the tools for handling the first part. To handle the second part, click on the link provided to log into your MyMerchantMailer.com interface. From here, the administrator can create templates (reusable building blocks) and use customer tokens to design, create, send, and track emails. The functionality and use of this is beyond the scope of this document, but there is online documentation on the MyMerchantMailer.com website.

 

SUBSCRIPTION LISTS

Subscription lists allow you to group people into specific interest groups. One list can be for people that only want to hear about specials. Another could highlight the newest products. Perhaps even a list that is a personal blog about life as a successful online web retailer. How you use the lists are up to you.

Managing Lists
Clicking on the “Subscription Lists” sub-tab will bring up a standard Miva Merchant batch edit screen. From here administrators can add, modify, and delete subscription lists.

Adding a list
To create a new list press the "Add" button on the right side of the screen. This will create a blank row at the end of the current display of lists. There are only three fields with which to work—Display, Name, and Description.




Display toggles whether or not to show this list as an option to customers during the runtime. Use with caution as if customers cannot see it, not only can they not subscriber to the list, but they also cannot remove themselves from the list. A good use of this feature would be to create a list only for specific accounts (like Gold Member clients, affiliates, or administrative teams). Something not available to the general public but still requires regular emails.

The Name appears in both the runtime for customers to see as well as choosing a subscription list on MyMerchantMailer.com website. It should be short, specific, and unique.

The Description field is a free-form space to explain why a customer should subscribe to a particular list, how often it is sent, or any other relevant information. Click the Update button to finish adding the new list.

Modifying a list
To make any changes to the look of a list click the Edit Here button. The Edit button goes to the subscriber's page and is explained later. Pressing the Edit Here button will change the row from ‘printed’ text to edit fields, similar to when adding a new list. When all editing is finished, press Update. To cancel an edit, click on the same Edit Here button.




Deleting a list
List deletion is accomplished through the Remove checkboxes. Check off one or more lists to delete and click the Update button.


All add, edits, and deletions are transmitted to the Miva Merchant Mailer server, so be patient.

 

HANDLING CUSTOMERS/SUBSCRIBERS

Subscribers are your customers and customers are your subscribers. Handled right along with your customer base are the subscription tools. With a new simplified interface comes the ease of letting the program do all the work.
Customers are added to a subscription list in the administration via two methods: individually on the Customer Edit screen or en mass on the Subscription Lists sub-tab. This document will cover both methods.

Manually Adding a Subscriber
Manually adding someone to a mailing list is against policy. However, there are situations where this can be required or necessary; such as adding test accounts to a test subscription list, adding specific customers to a ‘hidden’ mailing list, and so forth.

Converting Your Existing Customer Base
To subscribe a specific customer to any number of lists, go to the Customers screen and edit the chosen customer. A new tab exists to manage a customer’s subscriptions. Select or deselect lists to sign up or unsubscribe the customer as required. When complete, press Update.




To add multiple subscribers to a specific mailing list, go to System Extension Configuration >> Miva Merchant Mailer 2.0 and choose the Subscription Lists sub-tab. Click the Edit button for the list that will be modified. This will bring up a list of customers within the store.




Assign and unassign customers to the list via the Assigned column checkboxes and when complete, click Update.

Quick Subscriptions
During the installation of Miva Merchant Mailer, a "Quick Subscription" box is added to the front page underneath the category tree. Find more information about this in the Modifying Pages section.

Quick subscribers only fill in minimal information to create an account—just enough to satisfy the MyMerchantMailer.com requirements: first name, last name, email address, and zip/postal code. If this can cause problems with other modules, remove the item from the storefront (SFNT) page.

 

MODIFYING PAGES

Now that you have seen how easy it is to control lists and subscribers through the Miva Merchant Administration interface, look at what your customers will see and how you can dress up the look and feel to match your store design.

Showing Lists
By default, the list of displayable subscription lists is added to all known pages where customer information is displayed as a component item for ease of customization. The pages modified include Customer Add (ACAD), Customer Edit (ACED), and Customer Information during checkout (OCST).




If there are no available lists then nothing is displayed in the store. If one or more lists exist, then a simple table is displayed.




Quick Subscription Box
On the storefront page (SFNT), a quick subscription table was created. It too is a customizable item in the Page system so it can be added to multiple locations.




Just like above, it will only appear if there are lists available for display. The Quick Subscribe box only has the four fields required by MyMerchantMailer.




While it is possible to modify the customer requested fields shown (add a phone number or company name for example), only these four fields are required. Any additional fields added to the form are dropped silently if they fail validation.

There are a few other considerations when working with the Quick Subscription box. A hidden field is required to trigger the customer creation/subscription process.

<input type="hidden" name="Mailer_Create_Subscriber" value="1" />

In addition, the following block of HTML is required if adding the box to a Miva Merchant page that does not use an HTML <form>. It includes the hidden field previously mentioned:

<form method="post"  action="&mvt:global:secure_sessionurl;">

  <input type="hidden"  name="Mailer_Create_Subscriber" value="1" />

  <input type="hidden"  name="Action" value="QSUB" />

  <input type="hidden"  name="Store_Code" value="&mvte:store:code;" />

  <input type="hidden"  name="Screen" value="&mvte:Global:Screen;" />

  :::Fields go here:::

  </form>

Refer to Appendix C for a complete list of variables available when creating a customer via the Quick Subscription box.

Unsubscribing
Every email sent via Miva Merchant Mailer will have a standardized footer that includes the company name and location (as provided during the setup wizard) and a link for unsubscribing. By clicking on this link, customers are brought to the Miva Merchant storefront and shown a screen similar to this:




The link consists of the store URL provided during the setup wizard, a new screen added during install (MUSB), the customer’s email address and a security code. Following this link does not log the customer into the store. The code’s only value is for accessing this page. This is important to note, as even if this code/link were to be exposed, say by forwarding the email to someone else, it will not compromise the security of the customer’s personal data.

 

CONNECTING TO MYMERCHANTMAILER.COM

The Miva Merchant Administration interface handles the first part of your email campaigns. To create emails and start sending them out means going to the MyMerchantMailer.com website. From there you will build templates, customize your content, build the perfect email, and sent them out to your subscribers.

Logging In
Located within Miva Merchant, on the Configuration sub-tab is a link directly to the MyMerchantMailer.com administration interface. The login name and password are encoded into the module so there is no intervention required by the administrator.

Documentation
After logging into the account, there is a Help button in the corner to guide the administrator through the rest of this process. You can also access the on-line university at http://www.ondemandtutorials.com/university/EMU_main.html.

 

APPENDIX A: LICENSE AGREEMENTS

Anti-Spam Policy
MyMerchantMailer.com is an electronic mail service provider that provides web-based software enabling Miva Merchant administrators of all sizes to send permission-based emails to their subscribers. MyMerchantMailer.com believes, practices, and requires our client members to practice only permission-based email marketing. Our client members certify that they will only use our software to send emails to customers and prospects that have directly consented to receive email from them ("opt-in"). They are forbidden to transmit unsolicited commercial email (spam) via our system.

Links

Miva Merchant Mailer End-User License Agreement

Miva Merchant Mailer Anti-Spam Policies

 

APPENDIX B: GUIDELINES AND THRESHOLDS

Sending Guidelines & Thresholds
Miva Merchant Mailer's Sending Guidelines and Thresholds are in place to prevent abuse of our email system and to ensure our clients practice permission-based, opt-in email. We continue to lead the industry in deliverability rates – due in part to our commitment to, enforcement of, and client consultation on permission marketing best practices.

The guidelines below help protect the deliverability, brand reputation, and ROI for every Miva Merchant Mailer client. Clients unable to stay within these sending guidelines will be denied continued access to the Miva Merchant Mailer system. All Miva Merchant Mailer clients are required to comply. Miva Merchant Mailer will take the listed action when sends meet or exceed the listed thresholds below.*




* If AOL complaint quantity is over the threshold, but the percentage is under the threshold, then the action will not be taken. In addition, no action will be taken if the AOL Complaint percentage is over the threshold, but the complaint quantity is under the threshold. Clients will receive notice via email of any changes to thresholds.

Threshold Enforcement Procedures

Deliverability Report Card™ Emails and Account Warnings
Deliverability Report Cards™ and Account Warnings are sent to clients that have exceeded thresholds for sends in the previous week. The email provides thresholds, tips and best practices for reducing complaints and/or bounces. A member of Miva Merchant Mailer's deliverability team may also contact clients about their account and consult on what steps can be taken to improve future mailings. Depending on the severity of the problem, Miva Merchant Mailer may move the client to a probationary IP address. Continued report cards could escalate to a warning or an account hold. Any client receiving 2 warnings will be placed on hold after the second warning.

Account Hold
Miva Merchant Mailer places an account "On Hold" when we believe that a client's sends have caused considerable harm to their brand and email deliverability. When "On Hold," the "Send" button will be deactivated for the account while all other account functionality remains in order. Clients will be notified via email before the account is actually put on hold.

Clients receiving an "On Hold" email from Miva Merchant Mailer will be required to take specific actions on list capture, hygiene or email delivery practices, and may be required to purchase a Private IP from Miva Merchant Mailer to minimize impact on other client mailings. Clients unwilling or unable to comply may be terminated per Miva Merchant Mailer's user agreement. As a rule, clients will be terminated on the third "On Hold" warning.



APPENDIX C: QUICK SUBSCRIPTION VARIABLE LIST
Required fields
FIELD VARIABLE

First name

Mailer_QuickSub_Fname

Last Name

Mailer_QuickSub_Lname

Email

Mailer_QuickSub_Email

Zip Code

Mailer_QuickSub_Zip
Optional fields
FIELD VARIABLE

Phone

ShipPhone

Fax

ShipFax

Company

ShipCompany

Address

ShipAddress

City

ShipCity

State

ShipState

Country

ShipCountry